Military History Tours          On Tour - Our Other ANZAC Day Tour 30 April 2013

Today we set out for our last day of battlefield tours from Belgium.

We have been pretty lucky with the weather - this morning was cool and a little breezy but it was warm in a sunny spot.

We returned to Messines to visit the Ireland Peace Park - from here we were able to discuss the battle site including Ploegsteert Wood.

Close by was a small memorial commemorating the 1915 Christmas Truce which we also visited.

From there we visited the Canadian Monument (Hill 62) to view the dominating views to Ieper, followed by a visit to the Hooge Crater Museum (for coffee - because the historians are reasonable people) and a visit to this very interesting private museum.

A short drive to Hill 60 and the Australian Tunnelling Corps Memorial, then we visited the Polygon Wood Australian 5th Division Memorial and discussed the battles following Messines - Menin Road and Polygon Wood. We had a bite to eat in a sunny clearing adjacent to the Memorial and cemetery.

All of these sites are relatively close, such was the nature of the Battles in this area, so we could cover many sites.

After inspecting a number of bunkers still remaining in the forest, we moved on to Tyne Cot Cemetery. The scale of the site is extremely sobering. Finally we also visited the German War Cemetery at Langemark which is also of similar scale.

It was a quiet and reflective ride back on the bus to Ieper.

Tomorrow we have an early start and we board the ferry to England at Calais mid morning, bound for London.